Miller: Ducks the stumbling block for dream matchup

May 10, 2013

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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The Kings have advanced, as Drew Doughty, left, and goalie Jonathan Quick celebrate their victory Friday. Can the Ducks do likewise to set up a Southern California hockey freeway series? JAE C. HONG, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Kings have advanced, as Drew Doughty, left, and goalie Jonathan Quick celebrate their victory Friday. Can the Ducks do likewise to set up a Southern California hockey freeway series? JAE C. HONG, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES – What the Kings did Friday felt inevitable.

What the Ducks did Friday felt unavoidable.

So, the dream second-round playoff matchup featuring the Southland's two NHL franchises remained just that – a dream.

Now the Ducks face a potential nightmare Sunday at Honda Center – Game 7 against a seventh-seeded Detroit team with little to lose.

The Ducks, conversely, could lose it all.

But what did you expect from a series in which neither team has won more than once in a row? A series that has featured four overtime games? A series in which every surge has been answered with a resurge?

The Kings, on the other hand, now have a four-game winning streak going and haven't lost at Staples Center since March 23, 10 games ago.

The reigning Stanley Cup champions eliminated St. Louis the first chance they had, beating the Blues, 2-1.

Some teams make it easy on themselves this time of year. Other teams find themselves staring at Game 7.

Dustin Penner – yes, the former Duck – scored the deciding goal here Friday with a shot that beat the buzzer as impressively as Kobe Bryant ever has in this building. Penner's winner came with just two-tenths of a second remaining in the second period.

Two-tenths of a second is barely enough time to snap your fingers. But it was enough time to win a playoff game.

Two-tenths of a second is barely enough time to pump your fist. But it was enough time to keep alive the goal of defending a championship.

"I knew I had enough time to get a shot off," Penner said. "But I knew I had to hurry."

Entering Game 6, much of the talk centered on the physical aspect of this series. One way to highlight the black-and-blueness was to note that the teams had combined for 406 hits through five games.

Another, more interesting way to highlight the collective pounding, was to examine the face of the Kings' Robyn Regehr. The defenseman suffered a broken nose in Game 1 and took another puck to the nose in Game 5.

Regehr then played 11 shifts in the first period Friday and no King played more, and how can hockey players perform despite breaking their faces while baseball players miss games after blistering their fingers?

"They don't call the playoffs a second season for nothing," Penner said. "It's a grind. We just played six games in 10 days. Guys are tired. Guys are banged up. That's when your will to compete has a chance to shine through and ours did."

The Kings certainly look like a team with confidence, a team that just advanced despite dropping the first two games of the series.

"That's kind of like a sweep, I guess," Penner said. "It's definitely a relief."

U-turns like this one normally don't happen at the speed at which NHL playoff games are played. But the Kings just negotiated the maneuver on skate blades thinner than your iPhone.

"We got down 0-2, but our confidence as a group and our belief system as a group never really faltered," captain Dustin Brown said. "Being down 0-2, it's one of those things you kind of have to deal with. We have the type of guys in here that can deal with adversity and find a way to get the job done."

So a pair of Game 6s played three time zones from each other Friday produced results that were equally miles apart. A night that began with the prospect of Ducks-Kings ended half undone and with Ducks-Wings wholly unsettled.

Of course, it's silly to think about a Ducks-Kings showdown today, which is why that's all we can think about.

And the Kings are thinking about it, as well.

"There definitely would be some blood shed, probably on the ice and in the stands," Penner said. "It would be a lot of fun to be a part of."

The Ducks almost certainly will be favored Sunday, but the Red Wings will be an imposing underdog.

The Kings took care of their part, thanks to a former Duck whose slap shot was just hard enough and just quick enough.

Now, it's up to the current Ducks, who are one victory from setting up something that could be historic.

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